“Asbestos risks are what the insurance industry commonly call a treaty exclusion. This essentially means that the reinsurers , the people that insure the insurers specifically exclude cover for asbestos “
So what actually does this mean as a business owner , well it means you have absolutely NO cover for asbestos related claims here are a few examples.
- If your business conducts building audits you are not covered by your professional indemnity insurance for asbestos this is why so many building reports exclude asbestos.
- If you are a property manager and there is an asbestos related incident you will have no professional indemnity cover.
- If you are in construction and there is an asbestos related incident you have no cover even your public liability cover will not cover you even for accidental damage or public liability
- If you are transporting even a small amount of asbestos like a piece of pipe from a plumbing job and you have a car accident if there is a cost for an asbestos clean up you are not covered.
- If you engage subcontractors and they are involved in an asbestos contamination incident whilst in your control you may be liable.
- Import businesses are especially venerable to asbestos claims as many countries still use asbestos in many products.
In reality asbestos should only be handled by trained professionals who have access to insurance. The whole asbestos industry is about compliance and safety this is why only asbestos industry professionals can access asbestos liability and indemnity insurance. Another good reason to always use a professional and have audits on properties, because accidents happen but not managing asbestos is no accident.
